DavidGilbert99 writes: "With a £400 transmitter, a laptop and a little knowledge you could bring down an entire city's high-speed 4G network.

This information comes from research carried out in the US into the possibility of using LTE networks as the basis for a next-generation emergency response communications system.

Jeff Reed, director of the wireless research group at Virginia Tech, along with research assistant, Marc Lichtman, described the vulnerabilities to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which advises the White House on telecom and information policy.

"If LTE technology is to be used for the air interface of the public safety network, then we should consider the types of jamming attacks that could occur five or ten years from now. It is very possible for radio jamming to accompany a terrorist attack, for the purpose of preventing communications and increasing destruction," Reed said."